With the GHSA Wrestling Individual State Championship finals taking place this coming weekend, it seems fitting to recognize that less kids than ever will have a shot at glory when the first championship whistle blows on Thursday. In the past, the top four competitors in each of the 14 classifications advanced from the area meet to the state championship. As a result, a whopping 2,100 kids faced off at last year’s tournament. This year, however, the GHSA added an extra round, a sectional tournament, effectively limiting the number of wrestlers to roughly 1,150. All tournament matches will be held at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
Speculation surrounding the return of Andruw Jones to the Braves was put to rest last week when the 31-year-old agreed to a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. After spending his first 12 years in the league in an Atlanta Braves uniform, Jones signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers following the 2007 season. The move led to the center fielder’s worst season ever and helped convince the Dodgers to release Jones last month. Under his current agreement with Texas, if Jones is called up to the major league roster he will receive a $500,000 deal for one year and the chance to earn nearly another million in performance bonuses. Before hitting only .158 with three home runs and 14 RBIs last year, Jones made five All-Star appearances and was the winner of 10 straight Gold Glove awards.
If you have any hopes of becoming an Atlanta Falcons cheerleader, now’s the time to start your training and preparations, as the club announced last week that preliminary auditions will be held on Sunday, April 19. The tryouts will take place at the World Congress Center, with registration scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m. and auditions beginning at 10 a.m. Visit AtlantaFalcons.com for more information on tryouts as well as the prep classes that will be held prior to the preliminary auditions.
LENDING A HAND
The Thrashers will continue their tradition of giving over the next few months and it could benefit you. Last week, the Atlanta Thrashers Foundation announced that it will be awarding $50,000 in monetary grants during the 2009 grant season to local non-profit organizations in an attempt to promote health, education, and sports and fitness. The application period is just underway and concludes on March 1, at which time all entries will be reviewed while recipients will be selected in May. For more information, visit the community development page at AtlantaThrashers.com.
In other community-related news, the Thrashers joined the Hawks last week in launching the Hometown Heroes Program. At select games throughout the remainder of the season, the two teams will host Hometown HERO Nights for police, firefighters, teachers, coaches and military personnel and their families. The Hometown Heroes program is designed to recognize and reward local everyday heroes by providing them and their families a night out at Philips Arena. Tickets purchased in support of the Hometown Heroes program will be matched by the teams and donated to the families for the designated Hawks and Thrashers games.
EARLY RANKINGS
Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com released his preseason top 25 for next year’s college football season and some interesting selections were made. Not surprisingly, the defending national champion Gators held Schlabach’s top spot, while Big 12 powers Oklahoma and Texas were ranked second and third, respectively. Alabama and Virginia Tech round out Schlabach’s top five and traditional powers USC and Ohio State hold spots 6 and 7. As for the teams from Georgia, defying tradition, Schlabach actually likes the Yellow Jackets a bit more than the Bulldogs, ranking Tech at No. 13 and Georgia one spot below at 14. Of course, the defections of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno convinced Schlabach of the change in power.
Janovitz can be reached at sjanovitz@scoreatl.com.
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